04 May,2011 07:53 AM IST | | Correspondent
>> Sourav Ganguly first made a comeback to international cricket in 1996 after he was dumped in 1991-92 when he figured in the triangular series Down Under which featured hosts Australia and the West Indies.
>> Despite him not hitting the high notes Down Under, Ravi Shastri, a senior member of Mohammed Azharuddin's team, mentioned Ganguly as a player for the future.
Sourav Ganguly celebrates his half century on Day Two of the Wanderers
Test against South Africa in Dec 2006. After being dropped earlier in the
year, he was picked for the Test segment the tour. His 51 contributed to
India's first Test win in SA.
>> Ganguly scored a hundred on Test debut at Lord's in 1996 and followed it up with another fine century effort at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Both Tests were drawn affairs, but India lost the series because of England's win in Edgbaston.
>> To his credit, Ganguly managed to cement a place in the team and ended up as a one-day great. But he endured the biggest crisis in his cricketing life when he was dropped from the team in 2006. He missed the entire home series against England as well as the West Indies tour.
>> Much to everyone's surprise, he was picked for the Test segment of the 2006-07 South Africa tour after Rahul Dravid's Indians were walloped 4-0 by the Proteas in the one-day series. He scored a crucial half century in his Test comeback which contributed to India's first Test win in South Africa.
>> Before that Test, Ganguly kicked off his African safari with a fighting 83 against Rest of SA at Potchefstroom. He walked into battle against the young turks of SA cricket when the scoreboard read 37 for three. India ended the day with 316 for seven, a score which included a hundred from Irfan Pathan.
>> Sipping a drink in the evening, controversial coach Greg Chappell was quoted as saying in The Hindu newspaper, "I have never seen him (Ganguly) bat better."
